Don’t Let A Toxic Employee Poison The Atmosphere

Over the years I have worked with several of what I call “Toxic Employees”. They do a poor to mediocre job because no matter how talented they are they don’t do their best work.
They waste time on gossip, badmouthing coworkers as well as the company, and undermining others to make themselves look good.
I once worked with a women who would tell me all the supposedly negative things my manager said about me. When I would answer “That B—h!” The woman would then tell my boss I called her a b—h. She was such a troublemaker that it got to the point where my supervisor and I couldn’t stand each other. Finally my boss and I sat down and cleared the air and realized the problem wasn’t us but the toxic employee. My former manager and I are very close friends now even though it is 30 years later.
The problem isn’t just getting these people to turn around their behavior. Because it is exceedingly difficult to change someones character. The real issue is what it does to the moral of the other employees. When others see difficult workers keeping their jobs it shows the standards are low for management. Why try, they ask themselves? Toxic employees are also a drain on your energy as well as the energy of others. Instead of focusing on high value activities everyone becomes distracted. In order to do your best work you must have positivity of spirit.
There is an old saying “People are hired for their talents and fired for their behavior”. Should you keep a toxic employee?
Having a healthy atmosphere is crucial for success. So no matter how talented a toxic employee is you need to ask yourself ​is he or she worth the negative impact they are having on your organization?
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